Trips to the Hardware Store

Having a second home that you do not regularly live in can be a problem, because you are not there as things happen. And when we arrived here yesterday, it was obvious we did have a problem.

When I pushed the garage door remote, nothing happened. I had to get out and open the front door of the house with a key. Pushing the inside button on the garage did nothing to open the door either.

The breakers in the electric box were partially tripped, and almost every ground fault outlet in the house was tripped. Usually that means we have had a lightning strike. And so we have.

I have spent the last day fixing the electric system here in the house. Doug of Doug and JoAnn’s Living our Dream says that you can tell the size of a problem by how many trips it takes into town, to go to the hardware store. This will take several before it is over.

Our neighbor says he lost both of his TV’s and his computer about two weeks ago, which must be the time we had the problem as well.

We got all the breakers reset and found ground faults that have been toasted, most notably the fault in the cord on the remote boat lift out on our dock. The lightning fractured the case. But it seems to have been sacrificial, as the electronic computerized brain of the lift went into a reset mode and reinitialized itself, when I restored power to it. It seems to work fine.

But all the wiring between the dock and the house must have been fried. There is power to the top of the wires, but none at the bottom. The first trip to Lowe’s was to purchase a new corded ground fault and some additional drop cord. Another 50 feet of 14 gauge to add onto the 100 feet I already had. That is the power for the dock now.

I have rolls of wire back at KC so the next time I come down, I will be armed with the entire electrical kit to rewire. Trouble is that the conduit is buried and will need to dug up and replaced, along with the seven wires that are inside. It is about 50 feet long on the shore and at least another 50 feet once you get out over the water. I am hoping this second part is OK, but have not had power in the first half to check out the second part.

The first trip to the hardware store was only $70 to get the drop cord and the corded ground fault. This along with some conduit and PVC glue and a few fittings, but that is just the initial trip.

Oh and by the way, I did get the battery installed into the boat, and that part went fine. The Honda outboard started right off and the test trip went without a hitch, so something was OK. LoL

We have to get wound up tomorrow and head back to KC later in the day, as I have an appointment with the Doctor on Friday morning. I have not been in for most of the winter, and they get grumpy on the diabetic thing if they haven’t seen you in a while.

So that’s the news from Lake Ozark.

Retired Rod

Headed To the Lake

Why is it that when you declare that we are leaving for a few days, then all the stuff that you should have gotten accomplished seems to flash into your mind before you can leave?

That is how this morning went. Oh I need to pay this bill, and I forgot to pack up the computer last night. And what about setting up all those medications that I have to take every day. We didn’t get away until 10:30. Rather slow for just packing our suit cases in the trunk.

And then we had to stop at a license bureau in Belton, that I normally use for the Missouri tags, and purchase the pontoon boat tag. $100 for three years. Not so bad in the off years though, lol.

But the place was packed and I stood in line for another half an hour. Loyce made the best out of this delay, as she shopped the antique stores in the downtown business area.

Belton is an old railroad stop, and they have numerous old train engines and cars on the tracks as displays. And this has attracted the antique shops, and then the fabric shops, and you understand. Something to do while waiting for the license to be issued.

Our drive was quiet uneventful, for the entire three hour duration. We have been over it time and time again, and as Al Bossence of the Bayfield Bunch said a day or so ago, you get to the point where you as so accustomed to the surroundings that you no longer see them. And that is how our Missouri drive has become.

We arrived here and loaded all the stuff into the house. And then declared we were going to town. Since Loyce hasn’t been here with me for several of the trips over the winter, she had to see all the changes that have been made.

They remodeled Wal Mart, with many new grocery and frozen cases and a new liquor store. This made our old store look and feel a lot like the newer stores in bigger cities. The Osage Beach Wal Mart was one of the very first super centers that redefined the stores in the 1990s, but it is really old now and needed this face lift. We have a grand opening scheduled for tomorrow.

We might go if we really need something, but otherwise no.

We are here to clean and get the boat ready to go out on the water. That will require some power washing and some warm weather, but the forecast is not in our favor. Perhaps I will brave the cold and get some of it done all the same.

Time will tell.

Retired Rod

Another oil change and battery

Is it winter again? The dark ominous clouds hung over our skies all day as it became cooler and cooler in the afternoon. The windy, rainy mist seemed to blow right thru my jacket, and the car is a grimy mess.

It's in the mid 40's tonight, and I was forced to start the heat pump as I feel an icicle growing on my nose. But hey, buck up it is almost May 1st.

I spent the day in the garage changing the oil on the BMW. It is an 05 and now out of warranty so that means service is insanely expensive, and I'm retired and capable.....

It takes a special paper filter that goes into a permanent canister. Chevy had those back in the 50's, but I digress. It cost $20 for this little cartridge and is only available at a dealer. The car requires 9 quarts of synthetic oil at $6 a quart from Wal Mart. So if your calculating, were up to $74. They get $150 at the dealership so this is a deal.

Of course nothing on the car is made so a mere mortal mechanic can work on it. The drain plug is an 8mm stud bolt, like a big allen wrench. The smaller plug in the bottom of the filter canister is a 6 mm stud bolt. And the canister comes lose with a 24 mm socket. Tools we would all have right off. Not.

This afternoon I went back over to Sam's Club and bought another battery, this time for the pontoon boat.

We plan to head out to the Lake of the Ozarks in the morning and do some spring cleaning on the fishing cabin. Hopefully pressure washing the boat and its big cover in the process. That is if it is above freezing!

We'll blog from there once we arrive.

Retired Rod

Storms and a Battery

As I write this the thunder is rattling and the lightning is flashing.  I have watched the radar screen for several hours, as the worst of the storm has danced about ten miles to our West.  The storm has tracked to the Northeast passing by, but not visiting.

The weatherman on the TV explained that the storm would eventually track East as well as North and cover KC.  That is now happening.

They think this will be a rain event causing a torrent of water, passing slowly thru the night.  While we had 80’s and horrible humidity during the day, tomorrow will be mid 50s and drier.  Lets hope no more wind and tornados for a while.

I made up for all the activity on Saturday by passing a quiet day here today.  Going only to Sam’s Club to buy Loyce a battery for her Ford Escape SUV.  Although it is labeled a 2005, we purchased the vehicle in the summer of 2004, and we still  have the original battery.  When we got home from Texas this spring, it was mostly flat, and did not want to take a charge initially.

As those things go for us, even though I got it to work after a while, it will leave her on a rock somewhere.  Murphy’s law will make it in a bad part of town, so she had a nice new one installed by her husband this afternoon.

I seem to be able to bury myself in blogs and forums, and passed the afternoon with the computer, after falling asleep once, or was it twice?

Retired Rod